The 96% reduction in insecticide use on IRRI farm has contributed to the rich biodiversity of birds in the field

Neonicotinoids are a group of neuro-active insecticides chemically similar to nicotine. These chemicals were developed for market because they show reduced toxicity compared to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Most neonicotinoids show lower toxicity in mammals than in insects. The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is currently the most widely used insecticide in the world and others with similar modes of action include acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, sulfoxaflor, nitenpyram, nithiazine, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam. Imidacloprid has been the main insecticide used in rice in China for more than 10 years and most rice pest species had developed multi-fold resistance and the insecticides was removed from the rice market. These insecticides exert similar excitatory effects on both insect and mammalian nAChRs and thus can adversely affect human health, especially the developing brain and harm the brain of the unborn babies. The New York Times on Dec 18 2013 reported that European food regulators recommended further restrictions to the use of neonics because of their threats to human health.

Neonics have been linked to brain damages of prenatal babies.Are we putting future generations at risk?

China is the largest producer of neonicotinoids and when these products are withdrawn from the domestic market because of resistance it is likely that the neonics will find new markets in SE Asia, Africa and South America. In rice production the use of neonics is likely to increase rapidly although high resistance has already developed. The ban of neonics in European agriculture will also impact on increasing use of neonics in this part of the world. Since pesticide distribution and marketing is weakly controlled – “house with no roof” in most of these countries, the spread of neonics can be rapid and widespread posing threats to human health, bees, aquatic fauna, bird fauna and rice production through inducing pest outbreaks in Asia. There is urgent need to strengthen pesticide management regulatory systems to curb some of the undesirable impacts.

by K.L. Heong, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines

Symposium banner

Two weeks ago I attended a medical symposium in Kitasato University, Tokyo, Japan and was shocked to learn of the lesser known chronic effects of insecticides on human health, particularly brain damages. As most of us seldom read medical research papers or attend medical conferences, I thought of sharing some of the new information in the medical front. Dr J. Kimura-Kuroda of the Brain Development Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science presented her findings. They concluded that their study is the first to show that neonicotonoid insecticides, acetamiprid (ACE) and imidacloprid (IMI), with chemical structures similar to nicotine exert similar excitatory effects on mammalian nAChRs and thus can have adverse effects on human health, especially the developing brain. Their paper was published in PLoS One in February 2012. Earlier scientists have demonstrated that neonicotinoids cause brain damage in bees causing memory loss and their inability to return to their hives, one of the factors of colony collapse disorder (CCD). The EU suspended 3 neonics, imidacloprid, thiamethoxan and clothianidin to protect bees and pollination services in Europe. The EU ban can trigger increased use of neonics in Asia and we need to be concerned about similar threats to Asian agriculture. Neonics act on the nAChR channels which are involved both in physiological functions (including cognition, reward, motor activity and analgesia) and in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, some forms of epilepsy, depression, autism and schizophrenia (Gotti et al 2006).

Comparison between the nervous systems of an insect and a human.

The nervous systems of both insects and humans are rather similar and even more similar at the chemical level in facilitating neurotransmission. Insecticides are chemicals designed to interfere with this process thus insects inflicted with insecticides suffer death or paralysis. At sub lethal doses, these chemicals often interfere in the insects’ biology, like reducing egg laying and recently researchers showed that they cause brain damages thus affecting their behavior.

Organophosphate (OPs) and neonicotinoid (neonics) insecticides are both neurotoxins that have different mechanisms in disrupting neurotransmission in both insect and mammalian nervous systems. The nerve target of OPs is the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the neonics, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) (Fig 3 and 4 c and d). A cohort study done by Dr Maryse Bouchard and her team in Harvard found direct links between OP exposure and neurobehavioral deficits in the children born, like ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactive disorder). The main source of OP exposure of the children was from consumption of fruits and vegetables with residues. Children are generally more vulnerable to toxicity by neurotoxins because of their developing brain and the larger dose per body weight. Prenatal exposures to OPs were also found to be associated with poorer intellectual development (IQ) in 7-year-old children (Bouchard et al 2011).

OP and methylcarbamate (MC) insecticides not only target the AChE but also many other hydrolases in the nerve tissues. There is now concerns about OP-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN) and behavioral effects associated with disruptions of the cannabinoid system (Casida and Durkin 2013). This involves axonopathy and peripheral paralysis (Fig 4 (a)). The cannabinoid system is involved with appetite, pain, synaptic pasicity, mood and psychoactive effects of cannabis and can be affected by Ops and MCs (Fig 4 b).

Between 1997 and 2010 there has been a marked shift from OPs and MCs to neonics and non neuroactive insecticides. There is now increasing concerns on problems arising from the use of neonics, like the development of insecticide resistance, toxicity to bees, pollinators, aquatic as well as bird fauna and more importantly the health effects discussed above. To safely protect crops from losses due to insect pests in a sustainable manner, there is now need to place more emphasis onto discovering novel, effective and safe management methods that are not neuro-toxic (Casida and Durkin 2013).

Neonicotinoids or “neonics”, developed in the 1990s, are neurotoxin insecticides that specifically block the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the insect nervous system, but not the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors which are more abundant in mammals. They have lower toxicity in mammals than insects although some breakdown products are toxic. Imidacloprid is now one of the most widely used insecticide in the world, particularly in rice ecosystems. However, because of misuse a rapid development of insecticide resistance had occurred; and it had fallen from “hero to zero” (Tan 2009) – contrary to “zero to hero” by Jeschke and Nauen, 2008). In China, use of imidacloprid, sold in more than 500 trade names in the rice ecosystems, has declined because rice hoppers have developed insecticide resistance exceeding 300 folds.

Publications in SCIENCE and NATURE and about 50 other studies published in specialist scientific journals over the past two years all showed a consistent pattern of high risk to bees in the normal use of neonicotinoids. These chemicals are killing pests, bees and hymenopera parasitoids during spraying and uses as seed dressing. In addition, at low levels they interfere with insect behavior due to “brain damages”. Two papers in Nature Communications and the Journal of Experimental Biology discuss these details. The European Parliament in 2012 published “Existing Scientific Evidence of the Effects of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Bees”, and concluded that the risk to bees after normal applications of neonicotinoids is not acceptable. In Sichuan, China, some apple and pear orchards had to employ human pollinators due to lack of natural insect pollinators. Albert Einstein once said:

“If the bee disappeared from the surface of the globe then man will only have four years of life left”.

Apple and pear farmers in Sichuan China had to employ human pollinators

On 29 April 2013, the European Union voted to suspend for a two- year period 3 neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiamethoxan and clothianidin) for use in flowering crops where bees forage. Details are found here. Recently, a paper described a deleterious link between imidacloprid and aquatic fauna. They showed a significant negative relationship between macro-invertebrate abundance and imidacloprid concentration for all species pooled. A significant negative relationship was also found for several insect orders, namely, Amphipoda, Basommatophora, Diptera, Ephemeroptera and Isopoda which are non pests but beneficial species serving as important detritivores, alternative preys to generalist predators as well as predators themselves. Aquatic fauna in rice ecosystems provide valuable “pest invasion” ecosystem services.

Some aquatic invertebrates affected by imidacloprid

In 2011, US researchers demonstrated that imidacloprid caused spider mite outbreaks through increasing fecundity and destroying its insect predators, and thus, relaxing natural regulatory mechanisms against the mite. Additionally, in May 2013 the same group of researchers found that applications of neonicotinoid insecticides have been associated with outbreaks of spider mites in several unrelated plant species. The study showed that the insecticide disrupted plant defenses and linked it to increased population growth of a non-target herbivore. Do neonics also disrupt plant defenses in rice crops and make them vulnerable to planthopper outbreaks as well? Rice planthoppers are secondary pest species with similar ecological characteristics as spider mites. The high potential of imidacloprid and other neonics in causing outbreaks can similarly trigger brown plant hopper (BPH) outbreaks in rice production.

Imidacloprid has fallen from being a hero to “zero” and now a potential “villain”. Although the neonics are being phased out in China’s rice production and suspended in EU, marketing of these chemicals in Asia has instead increased in intensity. Will this unprecedented increase in use of neonics be beneficial to or seriously threatening agriculture in Asia?

The neonics are available in the market either singly or in cocktails under hundreds of trade names. Some common ones include Actara, Agite, Alika, Adage, Centric, Cruiser, Flagship, Meridian, Platinum, Vifone, Virtako, Gaucho, Admire, Merit, Poncho, Votivo, Confidor, Solomon, Provado. Many local names are given to mixtures using neonics and many more product names in Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian.

Exactly a century ago, Howlett (1912) discovered that citronella grass, Cymbopogon nardus (Poaceae), when used as a mosquito repellant, attracts many Bactrocera fruit flies during the daytime. Subsequently, he showed that the component responsible for the attraction was methyl eugenol (ME) (Howlett 1915). Tan and Nishida (2012) discussed and showed in their review that ME is found in more than 450 plant species, especially in spices, from 80 families spanning across 38 orders; and has many roles in nature. In an article “ask the experts – Why do flowers have scent?” Dudareva (2005) pointed out – “ To date, little is known about how insects respond to the individual chemical components, but it is clear that they are capable of distinguishing among complex aroma mixtures”. In fact, ME of floral fragrances has been shown and known to play an essential and important ecological role as a plant synomone (a semio-/behavior modifying chemical that benefits both parties in an interaction between two species) in the pollination of certain wild orchid species (Tan 1993, 2009; Tan et al. 2002, 2006). Furthermore, it acts as an antifeedant and/or a repellant against certain insects, as well as an antimicrobial agent, especially against some fungi and bacteria (see review by Tan and Nishida 2012). In the review, it was also shown that ME is toxic to the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål).

Standardized methods developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on evaluating methyl eugenol were used. The repellency (as shown by BPH leaving the feeding site) and mortality responses were observed and noted at specified time intervals – 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes for repellency; and mortality was recorded at 24 and 48 hours. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed using the PoloPlus program. The summary of data analyses is shown in Table 1. The probit lines of the repellency and toxicity responses were plotted as shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively.

Based on the probit lines (Fig. 1), repellency responses were already observed during the first 5 min with increasing probit values (3.62 to 4.52) directly proportional to the log ME concentration. The responses increased after 10 min up to 3 hours, showing more than 50% repellency response after 10 min.

The effect of repellency action of ME produced significant toxicity to BPH, resulting in significant mortality after 24 hours of exposure (Fig. 2). Table 1 shows the LC50 values of 1.39% and 1.25% after 24 and 48 h, respectively. The difference between LC50s of after 24 and 48 hours was not significant.

Based on the results, ME induced significant repellency (which may prevent immigrant BPH from settling down and feeding on rice plants – hence, it also may help to prevent plant virus transmission and/or spread), and mortality against brown planthoppers. The study points to the possibility of using plant species with high ME e.g. Ocimum sanctum, that are commonly used for culinary and medicinal purposes, has numerous oil glands without openings or pores per leaf (Tan unpublished observations), may be grown in rice fields by increasing biodiversity in the monoculture rice ecosystem as well as enhancing ecological engineering. This natural insect-plant interaction plus the fact that most Ocimum plants are pollinated by small hymenopterans especially stingless bees (Trigona spp.), some herbaceous species, like Ocimum sanctum has three (ME-chemotype) out of seven varieties that have high ME contents (Nurdijati et al. 1996), may also be recommended to promote an environment-friendly pest management technique. This is vital and essential in drastically reducing or avoiding the use and/or misuse of insecticides in the rice ecosystem, thereby, enhancing the sustainability of an area wide integrated pest management program against BPH.

The ADB-IRRI Rice Planthopper Project together with Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ZAAS) held the international conference to address issues related to ecology, management, socio economics and policy. The Conference brought together researches of the Project, the works of Japanese, Korean and Chinese laboratories. Most of the Chinese works were funded by the 973 project funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology initiated in 2009 to link with the ADB-funded Planthopper project. Professor Zhang Guoping, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Environment delivered the welcome remarks and together with Dr Robert Zeigler presented a plaque of a new spider species named in honor of Professor Cheng Jiaan. In his keynote address, Dr Zeigler, DG of IRRI, outlined the challenges ahead to reduce poverty and protect the environment. A pest like the planthopper can be a major threat to the sustainability of intensive production if not well managed. Professor Cheng spoke on the evolution of the planthopper problems in China in the last half century and emphasized that in the last 10 years the problems have worsened. Planthoppers have increased damages, insecticide use has increased and insecticide resistance escalated. There were 43 papers and 50 posters presented at the Conference, ranging from basic research like sequencing the planthopper genome to applied research like ecological engineering. A total of 166 participants from Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, IRRI and FAO attended the 3-day Conference.

K.L. Heong spoke on the devastations caused by the return of the Green Revolution pest, the planthoppers that are now causing more crop losses than in the 1970s and 1980s. He attributed the root cause of the increased threat to the insecticide misuse promoted by unregulated pesticide marketing as FMCGs. The presentation of Professor Andi Trisyono as well as Dr K. Sogawa also attributed to the recent return of planthopper problems to insecticide misuses. Planthoppers have been continuously causing serious crop losses in Thailand for the 11th consecutive seasons as reported by Ms Witchuda Rattankarn and an economic analysis done by economist, Ms Tiwaporn Sutthiwongse quantified the 2010 dry season crop loss to be more than US$50 million at farm gate price.

The Conference attracted more than 50 posters displayed on the corridors and at the back of the Conference hall.

Professor Geoff Gurr gave a nice overview of ecological engineering approaches around the world and emphasized the potential of using ecological engineering for rice. Presentations by Drs Ho Van Chien, Zhu Zeng Rong, Monina Escalada, and Lu Zhong Xian described successes in implementing ecological engineering in Vietnam and China. Professor Geoff Norton, President of the International Association of Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) discussed the need to be broad for research to address the right problem and issues and not be entrapped in tackling the wrong problem. Dr Heong et al used data from more than 5000 households to analyze the relationship between yields and number of insecticide applications ans question if there is any productivity gain from insecticide applications and Dr Larry Wong pointed out that pesticides which are poisons are being “pushed” through the supply chain with misinformation and is driving the misuse. Dr. Escalada et al described the media campaign process to upscale ecological engineering practices using bees to communicate parasitoids to farmers in Vietnam.

“Hopper Race” – a documentary film produced by TVE Japan about the rice planthopper problem in Asia.

A film called “Hopper Race” produced by Ms Juka Kawaai of TVE Japan in collaboration with IRRI was launched at the Conference. The first part of 5 chapters depicts the BPH describing the issues surrounding the problem and in part 2 to be released in December 2012 the film discusses ecological solutions to combat the BPH problem. The highlight of the second part is the interview of a woman in tears because her husband had committed suicide because of the repeated crop failures and the debts he had incurred. The film is in English and will be translated into several Asian languages. Details are available from www.tvejapan.org.

Ecological engineering book in Chinese

At the Conference a book in Chinese titled Ecological Engineering for Pest Management in Rice, edited by Dr. Zhu Zeng Rong et al and published by the China Agriculture Press was distributed. Awareness materials such as posters and Zhejiang Daily report discussing basic ecological principles and biodiversity were also available. More information can be obtained from zrzhu@zju.edu.cn .

When insect population is exposed to high selection pressure of insecticides, invariably insecticide resistance is selected or developed. Often the developed resistance may decline or reverse when the insecticide resistant insects are reared through a few generations free from any selection pressure.

We collected BPH from the field to explore the possibility of resistance reversion against 3 commonly used insecticides. The BPH were reared through 14 generations; and the LD50s were determined for populations at 2nd to 5th and 14th generations.

Standardized methods as described by Heong et al (2011) (link to h ) were used. The data obtained were analyzed using the POLO plus program. A summary of the data analyses is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: LD50s (in microgram/gram insect weight) of 3 common insecticides on BPH population at the 2nd – 5th and 14th generations (G) after field collections in Central Thailand. 2012.

Insecticide

LD50

Fiducial limits 95%

Slope (+se)

Heterogeneity

Sig

Rel. Potency

Fenobucarb 2-5 G

1.905

1.545 to 2.272

2.49 (0.29)

0.15

ns

1.20

Fenobucarb 14 G

1.586

1.101 to 2.109

1.84 (0.31)

0.64

Imidacloprid 2-5 G

3.437

2.428 to 4.435

2.15 (0.33)

0.72

*

1.80

Imidacloprid 14 G

1.908

1.327 to 2.548

1.70 (0.25)

0.06

Fipronil 2-5 G

0.159

0.121 to 0.203

1.64 (0.19)

0.67

*

1.83

Fipronil 14 G

0.087

0.062 to 0.112

2.21 (0.34)

0.69

*Significant at 5%.

The data we obtained were homogenous and all paired probit lines were parallel. Thus, the LD50s of each insecticide tested against the two generations may be compared and the relative potencies determined. Toxicity of fenobucarb was relatively low at LD50 =1.905 microgram/gram and it declined to 1.586. Although the difference was not significantly different, the LD50 declined about 20% after 10 generations. In the Philippines, the resistance stability of fenobucarb seems to lie between 2.12 and 6.90 microgram/gram. Stability is an estimate of how persistent resistance in a pest population remains when the insecticide pressure is removed. In Thailand stability is probably at less than 2.0 and is slightly lower than that in the Philippines and much lower than resistance levels in China (44.79 microgram/gram) and Vietnam (30.44 microgram/gram).

For imidacloprid and fipronil, differences in LD50 values between the early generations and the 14th generation were both significantly different. The LD50 values were 80 and 83% lower when insecticide pressures were removed. Resistance stability seems to be around 1.908 and 0.087 microgram/gram for imidacloprid and fipronil, respectively.

by Patrick Garcia and K.L. Heong, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines

The brown planthopper. A – Brachypterous or Short winged form. B – Macropterous or Long winged form.

Fenobucarb or BPMC has been used in rice fields in the Philippines for several decades for brown planthopper (BPH) management. In some areas the BPH had acquired resistance of more than 5 folds that of the most susceptible area. Insect populations acquire insecticide resistance when the insecticide pressure is high. For instance in China where insecticide use if extremely high, BPH from Bicol and reared in insecticide free on TN 1 rice plants in the insectary for 10 generations were found to have significant reductions in LD50s or reversion of about 6.10 folds (4.26-8.72). To determine the stability of resistance, we measured the LD50s periodically of insects reared for 30 generations. Stability is an estimate of how well resistance persists in a pest population once the pesticide is no longer used. The rate of reversion to a susceptible state varies enormously. But when the use of insecticides with similar modes of action cease, selective pressure for resistance is removed, and over time resistance will often be reduced. BPMC, like other carbamates and organophosphates act by inactivating the enzyme acetylcholinesterase in the nerve synapse and give rise to immediate hyperactivity and paralysis and eventually death.

Reversion of resistance to BPMC – Toxicities in LD50s at different generations after field collections.

We collected BPH from 4 locations in the Philippines and reared them through 30 generations. LD50s were obtained from the population at 2-5, 14, 25 and 30 generations. The probit lines of 3 locations, IRRI, Bicol and Davao were parallel and thus could be compared. Data from Isabela were highly variable. We found that LD50s of the Davao population from declined significantly from 28.54 microgram/gram to 6.41 microgram/gram from the 2-5th generation to 14th generation (about 4.45 folds) and remained stable at between 6.41 to 5.90 microgram/gram. Similarly the Bicol population dropped from 7.63 to 2.61 (about 3 folds) and remained stable at between 2.62 – 2.12 microgram/gram. For the IRRI populations LD50 values were fluctuating but had remained between 5.00 and 6.90 microgram/gram.

by Patrick Garcia, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines

Professor Zewen Liu delivering his seminar at IRRI on August 7, 2012.

Insecticide applications continue to be the main means of pest management in rice production. In China farmers apply huge amount of insecticides in routine schedules often up to 10 times a season. In recent years, planthoppers, both the brown and the whitebacked planthoppers, have become serious problems. In the tropics, scientists recognize these as secondary pests and when they become problematic, it is because of the breakdown in ecosystem services due to insecticide misuse. Insecticide overuse is also causing rapid development of resistance and in China, the brown planthopper is reported to have acquired hundred folds in insecticide resistance to some active ingredients. In his recent visit to IRRI, Professor Zewen Liu delivered a seminar on insecticide resistance research in China of two chemicals, imidacloprid and fipronil, and the biochemical mechanisms involved.

Resistance to the two active ingredients developed rapidly in China resulting in the removal from the market. Imidacloprid was in the market from 1997 to 2005 and fipronil from 2007 to 2009, which is being replaced by the more environmentally friendlier butene-fipronil. The rapid loss in use of imidacloprid is due in part to misuse as some describe this fall from grace as “from hero to zero” and its high toxicity to pollinators recently confirmed by two SCIENCE papers.

The double S curve of insecticide resistance development indicating biochemical and target site mutation mechanisms.

The resistance development was found to have 2 stages known as the double “S” curve. In the first increase period, biochemical factors, such as the high expression of detoxification enzyme genes, were the main mechanisms. However, in the second increase period, the target insensitivity (target site mutation) was the main mechanism. Methods to manage resistance would only be efficient when resistance levels were at the first increase stage associated with biochemical mechanisms.

In China, imidacloprid and fipronil resistances in BPH are probably still due primarily to stage 1 biochemical mechanisms. Thus, strategies to withdraw these chemicals before resistance reaches the second stage can still be used for management. Although low frequencies of stage 2 target resistance might have occurred in some places. IRRI and its collaborators led by Dr. K.L. Heong are now exploring RT-PCR detection methods to be used to check for these possible mutation frequencies in different field populations of Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and China.

To popularize and enhance the viewership of the Ecological Engineering TV series, “Cong Nghe Sinh Thai”, TV Vinh Long, Y Tuong Viet (Idea Vietnam), and the Southern Regional Plant Protection Center organized a “Meet the Actors “ Day in Hieu Nhon village, Vung Liem district in Vinh Long province. Held on 31 July 2012, the event was attended by the village People’s Committee Chair, farmers, TV Vinh Long staff and SRPCC officers. The “Meet the Actors “ Day is one of the elements in the entertainment-education approach initiated by Miguel Sabido (Heong et al 2008).

At the program, Dr K.L. Heong of IRRI pointed out that television can be an excellent platform to transfer scientific information to farmers. Mr Pham Thanh Xuan, Deputy Director of Vinh Long TV announced that Vinh Long TV is committed to help farmers because in addition to “Cong Ngee Sinh Thai”, it has several other programs meant for farmers.

Idea Viet TV comedians play a skit that delved on insecticide resistance

The highlight of the event was a skit performed by the popular TV comedians in the series – Ba Cai, Chi Bay and Chu Chin. The skit was a humorous exchange among three rice farmers about insecticide resistance. Chi Bay, a woman farmer, was scolding Ba Cai for having bought her a useless insecticide which could not control brown planthoppers in her rice field. Chu Chin, another farmer, told her that insecticides, when frequently used, lose their effectiveness because of insecticide resistance. Ba Cai remarked, “How can planthoppers be resistant to insecticides? Do they wear masks?” This entertainment part of the series serves as a segue to the educational part where a local scientist provides the explanation.

Village People’s Committee chair expressing his positive feedback on TV series

The actors portrayed their characters extremely well that farmers were so engaged in the TV series and they could not distinguish acting from reality. Farmers expressed that they found Ba Cai’s character as slow to learn the concept of insecticide resistance when they believed that it was easy to understand.

To track viewership and audience reactions to the TV series, we conducted a focus group discussion (FGD) with rice farmers in Trung Hoa village, Cha Gao district in Tien Giang province. In an arranged exposure, farmers first watched two episodes of the TV series and then assessed the program’s measures of effectiveness – attraction, comprehensibility, relevance and persuasion. The FGD participants assessed the TV series as easy to understand and the scientist’s explanation simple and easy to follow. However, farmers suggested that the educational part of the series need not focus on interviews with scientists alone but it should also feature a video, some pictures or interviews with farmers.

In December 2011, IRRI in collaboration with FAO organized an International Conference to address the threat of insecticide misuse to the sustainability of rice production. IRRI launched the Action Plan for Preventing Planthopper Outbreaks in Rice (link to ) that calls on governments to improve pesticide regulations, especially in marketing and distribution.

Pesticides in most ASEAN countries are being sold using FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) marketing strategies. As in soap powder, cosmetics, soft drinks and shampoos, the marketing of pesticides are also driven by aggressive advertising with emotional appeals. Plant protection department (PPD) of Vietnam is taking steps towards regulating pesticide advertising to be closer in line with developed nations, like Australia, the European Union and the USA, to curb misuse and “professionalize” plant protection services. Such regulations will help protect farmers from being sold wrong pesticides or pesticides with questionable efficacies that induce planthopper outbreaks or pesticides that will harm their health or spray unnecessarily.

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hong, the Director General of PPD, visiting with woman farmer. From http://goo.gl/EICfJ.

In an interview with Bao Nong Nghiep Viet Nam, (English translation available) newspaper for agriculture, Dr Nguyen Xuan Hong, the Director General of PPD said that “the goal of the company is to sell pesticides, increase market share and revenue and will pay less attention to the interests of people. The loopholes in pesticide marketing regulations are being exploited. For instance, PPD recommends farmers not to apply insecticides in the first 40 days after sowing, but companies encourage farmers to do otherwise”.

The director of Plant Protection of An Giang, Nguyen Huu An, also supports the call for regulating pesticide advertising. He said that farmers are often influenced by company’s advertising campaigns.

Dr Hong further emphasized that to help farmers the first thing is to increase awareness and understanding of farmers, through mass media such as radio, TV and newspapers. Secondly, there is need to establish strong linkages between government agencies and media and improve communication to farmers. Thirdly and most importantly is to restructure pesticide market and endorse stricter rules on advertising on pesticide use and strengthen inspection and control. These provisions will be available in the new circular replacing the current circular # 38. Pesticide companies that violate the regulations will be announced in the media.